Controlling and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) is a growing environmental concern. The release of CO2 into the atmosphere is believed by some experts to contribute to a phenomenon known as “global warming” or the “greenhouse effect,” where the CO2 creates an insulating effect in the Earth's atmosphere, reflecting some of the sun's solar radiation back to Earth and slowly raising the global temperature. As the global temperature rises, some experts believe that the Earth's environment may undergo dynamic and potentially catastrophic changes. Consequently, national and local governments throughout the world, including within the United States, have enacted legislation and/or regulations to control the production and/or consumption of CO2. Further, many companies and individuals are taking steps to reduce their own “carbon footprint” on a voluntary basis.
CO2 originates from a variety of sources, many of which involve the combustion of an organic fuel such as coal, natural gas, gasoline, fuel oil, and methane. Specifically, combustion processes that are used for the generation of electricity and/or heat are a significant source of CO2. Many of these combustion processes require and/or have a form of emission control capability. Such emission control capability may reduce one or more pollutants created by the combustion process. Some of the pollutants that are sought to be controlled include, but are not limited to, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and mercury.